


The Problem With Halloween (And Its Solution)

by Autoboty



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: (a bit late though), Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/M, Flashbacks, Halloween Special, Hugging, Kaito is a good bf, Kissing, Panic Attacks, Past Violence, Post-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, shameless fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-24 22:17:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16648874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Autoboty/pseuds/Autoboty
Summary: Halloween can be difficult when you used to kill people for a living. Fortunately for Maki, Kaito is always right beside her to help her get back up on her feet.





	The Problem With Halloween (And Its Solution)

**Author's Note:**

> This was in fact the first Kaimaki fic I ever wrote, but circumstances pushed it into being uploaded third. I hope you all enjoy this!

Summer had passed and October was in full swing, and trees everywhere were alight in a multitude of reds, oranges, and yellows as Kaito and Maki strolled into the mall.

“I still can’t believe you’ve never had a proper Halloween party, Maki Roll.”

“ _I_ can’t believe that you possess the necessary planning skills for a party.”

Kaito feigned shock, grasping his chest. “Who knew my girlfriend had such little faith in me? The Luminary of the Stars will whip up an absolutely  _stellar_  Halloween party, you mark my words!”

“Yeah, yeah. Less talking, more acting,” Maki replied as they headed in.

“Ooh, they’ve already brought out the decorations!” Kaito exclaimed as they entered the main foyer. “They really went all out this time!”

Indeed they had, as the interior was bedecked with Jack-O-Lanterns of various sizes and numerous skeletons hanging from each window. A swarm of toy bats were suspended over their heads, with a surprisingly convincing witch on a broomstick leading them high up in the air. Even the employees had dressed for the occasion, as they were costumed as a wide variety of monsters ranging from mummies to zombies to a very realistic werewolf as one of the cashiers. Kaito silently noted that the costumes weren’t just some cheapskate jumpsuits - if it hadn’t been for the hats and name tags emblazoned with the store’s logo on them, he’d almost have thought they were genuine monsters.

Maki, however, was having a decidedly less enjoyable time compared to her boyfriend. Wherever she looked, a dead body seemed to stare back. Why did they think it was a good idea to have so many zombie costumes walking about? She tried with all her willpower not to focus on the daggers and knives sticking out of their chests and necks  ~~which she stabbed~~ , clothes holed with too many gunshots  ~~that she fired~~ , skin soaked in blood  ~~that she spilled~~  as they turned their decaying heads towards her, beseeching with undead stares.

_Why did you kill us? We did nothing wrong. We had families. Friends. Loved ones. Until you murdered us all and took us away from them._

She whirled away from the sight, only to come face to face with a trio of skeletons sitting on the windowsill. Their dark, empty eyeholes wide and unseeing, necks broken and dangling, jaws open limply in a final, silent scream as an assassin clad in red and black shoved a knife into their necks… Maki desperately clawed at her face to cover her eyes, but her hands, fillled with so much red, red blood, could offer her no solace from the voices.  _Murderer_ , they screamed.  _You don’t deserve to be happy!_

_Murderer!_

Kaito had just smelled a whiff of some delicious pumpkin pie from a vendor nearby and turned to ask his girlfriend if she wanted some when he realized she was no longer beside him. His momentary confusion immediately gave way to concern when he noticed her crumpled on the floor a few steps back, hyperventilating, trembling and blubbering incomphrehensively even as he hurried back and knelt down next to her.

“Maki Roll! What happened? Are you alright?”

Kaito cupped her face in both his hands and gently directed her head up, but Maki’s eyes were already glazed over, witnessing some horror Kaito couldn’t even begin to imagine. Unable to break her out of her panic, Kaito instead picked her up from the ground in one swift motion, holding her bridal style and rushing out the gates as fast as he could. People were starting to stare, but the astronaut paid them no heed - the feeling of her cold, clammy hands grabbing his shirt like a shipwrecked sailor grabbing the last piece of driftwood spurred him into action, the safety of his precious Maki Roll taking the utmost priority at the moment.

Carrying his girlfriend in his arms, Kaito hurried over to a nearby bench just outside the building and set her down on it, holding her steady so she wouldn’t collapse again. Thankfully, her breathing seemed to be stabilizing once again. Feeling a ripple of relief wash over him, Kaito allowed himself to sit down next to Maki and wrap an arm around her shoulders. Maki, finally calm enough to articulate her thoughts into words, placed a hand on his thigh.

“Thank you…”

“No problem, Maki Roll. Do you want to talk about it? I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to - ”

“No, it’s okay. The decorations… the costumes… they reminded me of all the people I killed, back then… before I met you.”

A tense moment of silence passed before Maki found her voice again.

“Maybe I don’t deserve this, Kaito. I killed so many people, tore apart so many families, ruined so many relationships… maybe someone like me doesn’t deserve to be happy and in love, after all the sadness and heartbreak I caused.” A tear slipped past her eyelids and slid down her cheek.

Her boyfriend turned to look into her eyes, his face more serious than ever.

“Maki Roll, don’t you  _ever_  say that again. You were young, and they manipulated you and used you as a weapon. You didn’t know better.”

“I still killed them.”

“And you learned that it was wrong. You learned from your mistakes. You became a better person and fought for all of us. You saved us all from Monokuma. You’re perfect, Maki Roll, and you deserve all the happiness and love in the world.”

Maki tentatively reached out and held her boyfriend with her shaking arms, just glad to have such a loving, supporting boyfriend who would stand by her no matter what. Kaito reciprocated the hug, warming Maki up with the love pouring from his heart.

After a short walk home, the couple decided to cuddle up on the couch with some warm blankets as one of Maki’s favorite romance flicks played on the television. Maki gladly took the opportunity to nuzzle into Kaito’s chest, and Kaito wrapped his arms around her abdomen to hold her tight.

“I’m sorry for ruining your Halloween plans,” Maki mentioned, only then remembering why they had gone to the mall in the first place.

“Nah,” Kaito replied, “I think I like it better this way, anyway. Just the two of us.”

Maki echoed his words as Kaito pressed a chaste kiss to the top of her head, a faint smile growing on her face.

“Just the two of us.”

They remained in each other’s arms until long after the movie was over, drifting off to sleep surrounded in the warmth of their love.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr blog Appreciate-Kaimaki (https://appreciate-kaimaki.tumblr.com/post/179104197950/since-maki-probably-has-some-ptsd-from-her-time).
> 
> If you liked this, please leave a nice comment and check out Appreciate-Kaimaki on Tumblr! :)


End file.
